Game



March 10. 1925'.

u A. H. WATSON ET AL GAME Filed Feb. 5, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 10, 1925.

UNITED STATES raz-8,9651

,PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR H. WATSON AND CHESTER E. WARNER, or CHICAGO, TLLINoIs.

GAME.

Application ined February 5, 1921. seiai 110,442,804.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be 1t known that we, ARTHUR H. lVA'rsoN and CHESTER E. VARNER, citizens of the baiiie members.

United States of America, residing at Chi* cago, in the County 'of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Games, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in games and more particularly to that class of games in which movable elements are manipulated by tilting 'the game board or box, thereby causing these elements to move from certain predetermined positions or goals gree of skill to` move certain-movable elements to certain predetermined positions.

Other andv further objects of this invention will in part be obvious and will "in part bel pointed out'hereinafter by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like portions of the device are designated by like characters thruout the several figures of the drawings.

Realizing that our invention may be varied in its physical embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention, we desire it to be understood that the specific construction and form herein shown is to be taken as illustrative and not in a limited sense.`

Fig. 1 is a top planview of our improve game, a portion of one corner being brokenaway to show construction.

Fig. 2 is `a verticalsection taken on a line corresponding to`line2-2 ofFig. 1. n

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the single piece forming the bottom and Sides, before being folded. i

. Fig. 4 is arperspective viev7 of the binding strip for fastening the cover and box together.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the enclosure walls.

Y members.

'f to be inserted Fig. 6 is a view of one of the movable Fig. 7 is a perspectiveview' of one of the Referring now to the drawings, the game comprises a shallow, triangular box having a transparent top and flexiblefslidable and rollable elements 4therein as shown in Fig.. 1. Thebottom and sides of the box are preferably made of a single pieceof cardboard as shown-in Fig. 3, the cardboard being creasedat 3 vand the sides 2 turned upwardly. i

In the device as illustrated, on the bottom of the box is printed or otherwise outlined thereon the picture of three leaves 'of' shamrock as shown at 4:, around each leaf is `a substantially circular Wall 5 which isof the same height as the sides of the box and is provided with small lugs or ears 6 which are adapted to be inserted thru the openings? in the bottom 1, they are then bent over under the bottom ofthe box thus holding the walls 5 firmly iny position, these circular walls are open on one side, the opening being toward `the Center of the box' and theiry ends spaced a shortdistance apart between each leaf, the three wallsthus forming a comparatively large enclosure having three openings or passages 8 therefrom. f

Thefthree corners of thebox outside of the enclosure are separated from each other by means of the baffle members or rwalls 9,

lthese walls are also of the same height as the sides of the box and in this case are fastened thereto and'to4 the bottom by being box and isfsupported on the Side walls 2 and enclosure walls 5, this cover is held in placek yand the entire box stiffened and held rigid by means of the flanged' sheet metal strip 10 illustrated in Fig. 4. The iianges 11 are mitered at 12 to allow the strip to be bent around the corners of the box. VOne end ofthe strip is provided with a lug 13 arranged thru the opening F14 in the other end.

The lug 13 and the oppositeend of the strip are then bent over as shown in Fig. 1 thus securing the strip around the sides of the box, one of the flanges 11 extending over the edge of the transparent cover and the other underneath the bottom of the box, thus securing a very rigid construction.Y

For the purpose of stillness and rigidity in the larger sizes an additional bottom 16 is provided as shown in Fig. l.

Inside the box are provided, in the construction shovvn, three flexible, movable members 15, these members comprise a series of balls connected together in such a manner as to permit an independent, sidewise, rolling action of cach ball so that when the box is tilted to cause the movable members to slide endwise over the smooth bottom of the box, the sidewise rolling ot the individual balls will make it very difficult for the operator to control the direction of movement oi the member and will cause the member to have the appearance of a snake in motion. In the present construction these members are of similar construction but of smaller size than the pull chains used in the ordinary electric pull sockets.

In the construction illustrated the members 15 comprise hollow sheet metal balls 17 loosely connected together by means of the short pieces of wire 18 passed thru holes in the balls and having a head on each end.

The game is played by tilting the box at various angles thereby causing the movable members Or snakes to move thru the openings in the inclosure or Ireland so that there will be one snake in each corner ofthe triangular box and all outside the enclosure, this is very diflicult to accomplish as the erratic movements ofthe flexible members or snakes make a high degree of skill necessary to cause them to crawl thru the restricted openings in the enclosure and remain in the corners of the triangle.

In tilting the box to remove a snake from the enclosure the walls of the triangular box and the baffle walls opposite the openings in the enclosure are continually tending to guide the snakes back into Ireland.

Having thus described our invention what we claim is:

l. In a game, the combination of a triangular box having a transparent cover, walls in said box forming an enclosure, openings in said walls, flexible, rollable and slidable members in said box, and baille members opposite the openings in said walls and arranged to guide said flexible, rollable and slidable members thru the openings in' said Walls.

2. In a game, the combination of a box having a transparent cover, walls in said box and forming a plurality of enclosures and having openings therein, a flexible, rollable and slidable member formed of a plurality of balls rotatablv secured together in said box, and movable thru said openings with a snake like movement when said box is tilted.

3. The combination with a game board having a plurality of compartments thereon and having a plurality of tortuous passages intercommunicating with said compartments, a plurality of balls connected together to allow rolling movement of the balls in opposite directions to simulate a serpent in motion and to be moved through said passages when said board is tilted.

4. In a` game, the combination with a game board having an outer wall, of a plurality of inner walls, said inner walls forming a plurality of enclosures within said walls and an enclosure between said inner walls and said outer wall and passages intercommunicating with all of said enclosures, and a combined rollable, flexible and slidable member arranged to be moved thru said openings by tilting said board.

5. In a game the combination with a game board having an outer wall, of inner walls forming a plurality of enclosures, said inner walls being spaced from each other to form a central enclosure and also spaced from said outer walls to form an outer enclosure, said innerwalls having openings therein and therebetween to provide a tortuous passage between said enclosures, and a combined flexible slidable and rollable member movable thru said passages by tilting said board. l

6. The combination with a game board having outer walls thereon forming an outer enclosure, of a plurality of inner walls within said enclosure, each of said inner walls forming a substantially circular inner enclosure and having an opening communicating with each of the other inner enclosures, said walls being spaced to provide a plurality of openings from said inner enclosures to said outer enclosure, and a flexible member movable thru said openings by tilting said board, said flexible member comprising a plurality of comparatively heavy balls independently movable and linked together to form a slidable and rollable, flexible member.

ARTHUR H. WATSON. CHESTER E. IVARNER. 

